This is a truly exciting time at LSU in Shreveport! LSUS is proud to be Northwest Louisiana’s public regional comprehensive university. As such, we exist to serve the needs of this great region. As Chancellor, I am pleased to report that LSU Shreveport is continuing its historic growth. Founded in 1967 as a two-year feeder campus for LSU in Baton Rouge, we now award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Over the past several years, we have been regularly setting new records for enrollment and continue to grow at a pace matched by few institutions in the country. In fact, for several years now, LSUS has awarded more graduate degrees than any other university in Louisiana, and more total degrees than any other Louisiana university except for the LSU flagship in Baton Rouge. The reason is that while we are enrolling more students, we are seeing great success in retaining our students on through graduation. Our rapid growth comes at a time when many universities like LSUS around the country are struggling. The reasons for our sustained growth trajectory are fairly apparent: We offer high quality contemporary programs that students want and that meet workforce needs right here in northwest Louisiana and beyond, and we are supporting our students to get across the finish line with numerous Student Success initiatives.
In Spring 2024, we celebrated when LSUS enrollment crossed the 10,000-student mark for the first time in our history. Just one year later, our enrollment grew to just short of 11,000 – even after graduating a record 1500 students in December 2024. But we are not stopping there; despite graduating 1700 students in May and another 1500 students this summer (both records), we expect to set another new enrollment record this semester when our census date hits. Moreover, our enrollment has been increasing in every category: online, face-to-face, undergraduate and graduate, as well as dual-enrollment high school students. While a high proportion of our students are in fully online programs, it’s worth noting that more than 2000 of our online students are Louisiana residents, for whom our asynchronous online format makes it possible for them to attend no matter where they reside. Last year, our students came from 61 parishes in Louisiana, all 50 states and more than 80 countries.
LSU Shreveport is gaining notoriety across the nation for our academic success and more. Last year, our AACSB accredited online MBA program displaced Harvard’s on the list of the ten largest online MBA programs in the U.S. For several years in a row, LSUS had the highest rating on the Economic Mobility Score ranking. This measures the rate at which a university moves Pell-eligible students (those with the highest financial aid need) successfully from freshman year to graduation and on to good-paying jobs. With our high proportion of Pell-eligible and first-generation students, this is an important aspect of our mission. In the athletics arena, it’s notable that our Pilots Baseball team recently won the 2025 NAIA World Series, completing the season with a perfect 59-0 record – the first college baseball team anywhere to compile a perfect record. As we like to say at LSUS, “Perfection Wears Purple”! Our other athletics teams, along with our Debate team are also competing well and bringing recognition to LSUS. I should also mention that our LSUS Bass Fishing Team finished their last season ranked number 7 in the nation and are now ranked number 6 in pre-season rankings. Wow!
Despite our ongoing successes, we are not resting on our laurels. We are constantly looking at how we can better meet the needs of students in NW Louisiana and beyond and how we can better support the economic development of the region. This means launching new programs meeting workforce needs in this region. For instance, we recently signed an MOU with LSU Health Shreveport to partner in offering three undergraduate programs in high-need allied health fields: Cardiovascular Technology, Cardiopulmonary Science and Medical Laboratory Science. Further, faculty and students in our Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research (INAR) are partnering with nonprofits throughout the state, helping them improve how they support the people of Louisiana. In our College of Business, the annual Pilots Pitch competition supports student entrepreneurs in developing a business idea. Students in our Security Operations Center learn to identify and address cyber threats through hands-on experience in an actual cyber security operation. LSUS’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CEBR) conducts critical research into economic development in the region. A group of LSUS computer science students recently developed an artificial intelligence tool to improve weather predictions for the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base. Finally, LSUS will be making an announcement soon regarding the establishment of a new center designed to expand on our many projects in the community.